A question about internal case wires...

[Juror No. 8]

I'm trying to put the finishing touches on a new build and I've come across a small problem that isn't explained in the manuals for the motherboard and case.

I'm basically putting an HTPC together, and the case has IR receiver on the front.

The wire for that IR receiver is supposed to go into a USB port, but the wire isn't marked in any way that identifies the orientation in which it needs to plugged in. The plug for the wire has four holes, each leading from four different color wires (red, green, yellow, black).

My question is, which way am I am supposed to plug this wire in? And if I get it wrong, can I damage the motherboard at all?

 

[Synthet1X]

Most of the time there is little lips on one side of the plug that will fit like a puzzle onto the connection to the mother board.

If there is no difference and you cant tell which way to plug it in, it will not damage any components or your MOBO if it is wrong, it will simply not work.

 

[Juror No. 8]

Most of the time there is little lips on one side of the plug that will fit like a puzzle onto the connection to the mother board.

If there is no difference and you cant tell which way to plug it in, it will not damage any components or your MOBO if it is wrong, it will simply not work.

I thought I read somewhere that you could damage the motherboard by plugging an internal USB cable incorrectly and powering up the system.

 

[Synthet1X]

I'm not sure where you read that, but its not true. Most USB plugs have a blank pin on them. They usually have 2 rows, a top row with 4 pins and a bottom row with 5 pins. This is the only picture i could find that shows it.

It should not damage anything if it is wrong. Its not sending a signal into the MOBO when it is plugged in so there is nothing to damage it.

 

[sm625]

Note the missing pin 9 all the way to the right above. That's your key. Pin 1 is +5V, pin 3 is Data-, pin 5 is Data+, pin 7 is GND. Your 4 wires need to go in there. You need to figure out what your 4 wires are. It should be pretty easy to find GND. Once you do you can probably figure out which is power also. Then that just leaves data polarity, which you can guess. If it is wrong you'll know when the device doesnt work!


If it is anything like the example shown below, then you can safely assume that +5V and GND are at opposite ends, and the red wire is +5V. Data- is next to +5V and Data+ is next to GND.

 

[Bubbaleone]

I'm trying to put the finishing touches on a new build and I've come across a small problem that isn't explained in the manuals for the motherboard and case.

I'm basically putting an HTPC together, and the case has IR receiver on the front. My question is, which way am I am supposed to plug this wire in? And if I get it wrong, can I damage the motherboard at all?

Your pic is from Rylun , in Australia, so is that a Streamcom or a Wesena case? Both mfgs. have good PDF user guides for the cases, with clear wiring diagrams, but the IR cards have their own seperate user guides and wiring diagrams. Either way, if you go to the Streamcom or Wesena websites, the guides are available on both sites under the "download" category. Note that the pin orientation for each connector is printed on the PCB.

 

[Juror No. 8]

OK, guys. Thanks for the input. Apparently it's not true that plugging in a USB wire in the wrong orientation can produce anything other than non-functionality.

Process of elimination time.